Troublemaker
by frontliner311
Summary: Azariah not only has to fight for her life on a daily basis, but she has to fight off her feelings for a man that seems to have a darker side to him than she could ever imagine. What will kill her first? The never ending amount of zombies, or the destruction of her heart? Will this life turn her into something more fearsome than the very thing that has everyone so terrified?
1. Chapter 1

The formerly white hospital gown clung to her skin as a bead of sweat ran down her leg.

It was the scariest thing she'd ever seen. It was taking everything in her to convince herself that this was real, because no dream could ever be this vivid.

There was no way that the very people who swore to protect them were the very ones gunning them down. There was no way that dead people were coming back to life.

Not even a few hours ago, everything was fine. She'd heard of a virus spreading, but she'd figured that it'd get under control.

She'd felt even more safe from the virus since she'd been in the hospital already for a few days because of the car accident she'd been in. Figuring that although those infected would check into the hospital, the medical procedures would ensure a better quarantine and less chance at getting infected outside of the hospital, so she'd paid no mind to the news of the virus.

Now she wishes she had.

Shaking with such an intensity that seemed to rattle her very bones, she crossed the hall and ducked into a room that the military had already "cleared."

Once she was in the room, she huddled into a corner behind the bed, furthest from the door. She tried to calm herself down by going over what had already happened to her and planning how to get out of the hospital in one piece.

 _After getting her check up done, her doctor had told her she was progressing perfectly and that she should be well enough to go home in two days if she continued resting. He made sure to remind her to plan how to spend the next few weeks at her house, so as not to worsen her broken ribs, fractured wrist and sprained ankle._

 _Satisfied with what she'd heard and taking the doctor's advice, she took a nap. It took her a while to get comfortable, thanks to her injuries from the car accident she'd been in two days prior._

 _She'd woken up to her primary nurse shaking her, telling her that all of the patients that were in the most critical condition, and primary care physicians were going to be evacuated from the hospital, since there'd been an outbreak of the virus. Confessing that she couldn't stand the thought of leaving Azariah at the hospital, she was willing to bend the rules a bit to make sure she stayed safe. The nurse had been shaking and stuttering so badly that Azariah could barely understand her. Doing her best to follow the nurse out of the room, she hadn't registered all of the screams of other patients ringing throughout the halls._

 _What she saw was chaos._

 _Nurses and patients were being lined up against the wall while the military gathered some doctors. Before she could see anything else, her nurse pushed her in the group that the military were escorting out of the hospital._

 _Due to her confusion and injuries, Azariah fell behind and out of her designated group._

 _She found herself in another hall, with military lining up citizens in the same manner as her hall. Quick as lightning, the soldiers raised their guns and shot them._

 _Jumping, she made sure to cover her mouth as she gasped. Is that what was being done in the other hall? She knew that if they saw her there, she'd probably endure the same fate. She looked around and tried to find a place to hide. Choosing a food cart nearest to a room door, she crouched behind it as she tried to figure out what to do next._

 _Azariah watched as one of the men who'd been shot in the heart rise back up and lunge for a soldier. A shot to his head was swiftly delivered, and she couldn't help but yelp when it happened. Freezing, she hoped that they hadn't heard her._

 _The soldiers were probably more preoccupied with the remaining bodies than to hear her._

 _Taking advantage of that she ran into the room two feet behind the food cart, which turned out to be the janitors closet. Hiding behind a group of mops, brooms, and a vacuum, she waited until the sound of the soldiers disappeared. She prayed that they wouldn't think to check the closet._

 _But it seemed as though fate had a different plan, since she heard the doorknob click as it was turned. Clasping both hands over her mouth, so that they couldn't hear her, she held her breath as the tip of a gun slipped through the door._

 _The gun slowly opened the door, and Azariah felt herself begin to sweat profusely as her nerves took control. The silhouette of a huge soldier loomed in the doorway. As he stepped into the closet, she willed her pounding heart to stop beating in fear that he'd hear it._

 _Waiting for him to finish scoping out the room seemed to take forever, but once he'd left, she slouched and sighed in relief. Leaning her head against the wall, she thanked God for helping her get this far._

 _She couldn't believe this was happening. Knowing that she needed to get herself some type of weapon to protect her from those people outside and possibly the soldiers, she looked around the closet for something sharp. Not finding anything, she grabbed one of the mops in front of her and did her best to break the mop off the stick. Now having something she could at least use to hit with, she looked out into the hall. Seeing an opportunity to get through, she walked out._

 _Azariah had no idea how far she was from any exit, so she did her best to try to get out of there. Or at least that hall. As she turned the corner, she saw someone covered in blood walking to the other end of the hall. Since they were limping, she figured they might've escaped the soldiers, though not without injuries. Calling out to see if they were okay, she shuffled closer to them. After not getting a response, she yelled her question and the person turned and Azariah felt her blood run cold._

 _This was no human. Mouth dripping with blood, a glazed look in their eyes, a gunshot wound where their heart should be, chunks taken off of their arms and neck, and part of their cheek ripped out. This thing was moaning and once it made eye contact with her, it raised a blood soaked hand towards her and started to shuffle closer to her._

 _Knowing this wasn't good, she automatically took a step back, but didn't go any further since she was shocked. Still trying to piece together what was in front of her. Putting two and two together, the name of this creature flew to the tip of her tongue, but she didn't dare say it out loud, lest it make all of this real._

 _Once the thing was close enough to her, she raised the stick and hit it on its head. The stick broke in half, and it made no damage to the creature other than making it more restless._

 _Not recovering quickly enough, they grabbed her and pulled her close. Fighting with all her might, knowing that she couldn't allow it to bite her, she pushed it at arms length and drove the rest of the stick into the eye._

 _It went quiet and fell forward and onto her, causing her to fall with its weight. Panicked, she scrambled as she tried to get up. Shaking, she went into the nearest room, and sat in the corner farthest from the door, behind the bed._

Shaking, she put her dead in her hands. She couldn't believe this was happening. One moment everything was fine, and the next, she was plunging mop sticks into people's heads.

Was this a result of the virus that was going around? Had the flu virus mutated or something? If that was the case, why didn't the government let people know the severity of the situation?

Running her hands down her face, Azariah tried to remember where the exit of the hospital was. Racking through her brain, she couldn't remember the general layout of the hospital, even though she'd take daily walks around it with Mr. Higgins to exercise his old legs. _It must be the stress._

Just as she was about to get up, the hospital shook as a loud boom sounded off in the distance. The lights went out in her room.

Were they bombing the hospital? Would the military really go that far?

Rushing out of the room, she quickly turned left and ran as quickly as she could. Looking over her shoulder she noticed there were no soldiers behind her, but there were plenty of infected starting to enter the hall. Quickly turning the corner she made it into a mostly deserted hall, she saw a man looking in the direction opposite her. As she crouched down, wincing from the pain in her ribs, she looked when up she heard screams and gunshots. She and the man watched as soldiers were gunning more people down. Walking to him as quickly as she could, she felt her heart soar as his police uniform came into view.

"Please, Officer you have to help me." He spun quickly with his gun aimed at her. She raised her arms to show she meant no harm. "I'm not one of those things, I promise Officer." She whispered as loud as she dared, just in case the military would be able to hear her. "Please," she begged. "I don't know what else to do or how to get out of this mess."

He looked at her for a few seconds before he went to open a door. The angle of his body prohibited her to see what was in the room, but she waited until he finished whatever it was he was doing just in case he decided to help her. Looking to the end of the hall to check that nothing was headed for them, she noticed some of the infected crossing the entrance of the hall. She shifted nervously, hoping he'd make up his mind over whatever was troubling him. He stayed there for a moment before seeming to do exactly that. Rushing to put a gurney to block the entrance, he reached for her saying, "Come with me."

Azariah breathed out a sigh of relief as she took his hand and followed him out of the hospital. Hopefully, they could figure out what was going on and everything would be fine.

But those hopes were slowly dying as she saw the mess that the hospital had turned into. She'd been a fan of zombie movies mostly for the fact that she knew it'd never happen. And it did happen, by the looks of things. But if things were as bad as she suspected, and she prayed to God that she was just exaggerating, this hospital massacre wasn't going to help anything.

God help them all.


	2. Chapter 2

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p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="55acb759e255005383d67d8df31dd419"Luckily for herself and Shane - the officer who saved her at the hospital - they found the people he needed to protect. They also ended up in a group that was bigger than she'd expected it to be when they first started out./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5593c2d5676898461d1d0d8498d8a875"Shane's wards were his late partner's wife and son. They were good people and Azariah admired how dedicated Shane was to protect them. He'd also given her his word that he'd do his damnedest to protect her as well, but she felt deep down that she'd probably always play second fiddle to the pair./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="277ea41ebdb0ee3c8b17bda051520a5b"Azariah and Shane had also managed to get along beautifully, for the most part. They treated each other like partners, and essentially lead the group together. It worked out very well, especially when certain group members started acting up./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="157a421440af448063da8cd44c3d587d"Members like Merle Dixon. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a6950b960fc40f03c9d741a0eb3de60b"👣/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7498b50a820b48a69c1d5943f6544b6e""Merle, how many times do I have to tell you to stop following me around?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1a058a5d615604f4b52d42f092015d57""You can tell me all ya want, sugar, don't mean I'm gonna listen."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="23402be4bf99abac06e4351dd2ad219c"I sighed and did my best to hide my smile as I turned around. "What can I help you with Merle?" At this point, we were close to my tent. I'd been helping the girls with the laundry when I remembered that I'd left some of my own dirty clothes behind, so I went back for them. Merle intercepted my walk back, and although he wasn't saying much verbally, his presence was saying enough./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="97d884da4b864de947e976599114022c""Oh, you know em style="box-sizing: border-box;"exactly/em what you can help with sugar." The big blonde smirked down at me. I couldn't help but chuckle./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="991c9ba2a34110e4f1770500e8b0b850""We've already talked about this Merle. The answer is no."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9dad837f4f8d32e8944acaed3bc3f821"He stared at me for a while. "You sure I can't change you're mind?" I shook my head no. Hopefully he understood that I meant that I wouldn't change my mind. "Well," he shrugged. "Can't blame a guy for tryin' right?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a7cdd14f8bf6e4ef7e7254cb7b8df2ee""No," I smiled. "You most certainly cannot."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ab91c609326c802396813e7b0115010d"He took a few steps towards me. "Be sure of one thing, though." I felt my breath catch when he leaned close. He smirked. "When you got that itch you can't possibly scratch all by your lonesome," his voice got huskier with every word and he ran a finger down my cheek. "Call me," he whispered. "You know I'll be more than willing to help." He laughed. "We both know it wouldn't be the first-"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3c06828cb7f9769c4ed9d84879dfaf43""The first em style="box-sizing: border-box;"what/em, Merle?" The sound of Shane's voice snapped me out of the trance sneaky Merle got me in. Merle threw his head back and sighed./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9415f1c585eed261453ef72a0abc8f4c""Well you'd know if you'd let me finish, dontcha think?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e83a9efcc419294e7999d6719ebd4567""What Merle meant to say was that he was just leaving." I took a hold of Merle's arm and pulled him in the opposite direction of Shane. "Weren't you Merle?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f0b3ebb55d407bb717a1ca9adf73b874"Merle was on the verge of denying it, when he saw my expression. "Yup, that's what I was saying. I'm gonna head on over to Daryl and see if he's ready to go huntin'. Got to make sure he's fully prepared. Lord knows it wouldn't be the first time that he'd forget something and leave it up to me to fix his mistake." He chuckled and sent me a wink when he noticed Shane's skeptical expression. "See ya later, sugar tits." He blew Shane a kiss, "You too, Officer Schnozz."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9006eec74a6ba1b8d23a0f5523c43ed1"As Merle walked away, Shane turned to me, and raised his eyebrow. "Care to tell me what you two were talking about?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="91a099a9dc18845c7b08ff3a8ac459bc""Nope," I smiled. "Its nothing you gotta worry about." His look said otherwise. "Really."/p  
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p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="95875ab9826ee9d5c9ee9ac39d230d5e""Exactly," he huffed. " He bothers everyone else from a distance. He gets all close and personal with you when he starts buggin' and I don't like it."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2714a5c82ba8711768c51cfd8e63abe0"His exclamation made me raise an eyebrow. "Now why exactly does it bother you?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9b1a75222158afd4c459e88924e9b71a"He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again. After trying to find something to say, he huffed and rubbed his head in an exasperated manner. I tried to hold in my laughter. "I'm waiting."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="828468636bc1696553501fdecb9a4d22""I don't know," he grunted. "It just bothers me all right?" He glared at me. "I don't like that he looks at you like you're just some piece of meat that he can't wait to eat." Now he was the one getting all close and personal with me./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5cc49e276762e54d980f557cbdaa00d9""What?" I threw my hands up. " A guy can't look at a girl that way when he's interested in her? Its been a while since a guy looked at me like that, and I'm gonna be honest with you Shane," I leaned close and whispered, "it feels good to be noticed. It feels good to know that although the world's gone to shit, someone still finds me at least somewhat attractive! And they're clear about it too! They're not sending me mixed signals by giving me the impression that they're interested one second and then the next, going off and sniffing after someone else's panties." I backed away with my hands up. "I'm tired of it."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="79e74b79f130c6fa33212590e2e3da75"I rush into my tent and grab all of my leftover laundry. Shane follows me inside./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="eadcae631652f213ee222b24ef2aebfa""Sniffin' other people's panties?" He scoffed, "who's panties am I sniffin' at other than yours, huh?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e3da4d8b74e4aa03098462451fb1de0d"I don't answer while I try to neatly pile everything together. After he clears his throat I stop moving but don't turn to him. "Lori's, Shane, who else?" I grabbed all the clothes and picked up the stray few that fell. "You seem to have been sniffing at her panties much longer than you have been for me, so." My bending over to grab the clothes that fell, made more fall. "You can have her, because I'm not going to waste my time trying to figure you out anymore." I tried to pick them up again./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="85f2bb616c059f0690e013aa55f1e49e""I already had her."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="bb8bf85363846404e5f6af3c53836865"Half the clothes fell out of my arms./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b2a08483df03fd9066f6ee1d5e37d8ef""What? When?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5a86cf415cdf6c7878a6d627ce3ee1fe""A while ago. It was just once."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="8aa8b3db84d1e2cc9ca4459aefb37cdf"I dropped them all./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9fe9ea97924e5ed9f6af6f442f4103d5""Is that supposed to mean something to me?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="56155f2dad9b7e7ec6407ae5d2f1534f""Well, yeah."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5f9d28c5c31eb7b643b4b48fccbbf326"I turned to look at him./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b7ecc25591d7a3cc737af6ae4a2a4d2d""What, you think that after telling me that you slept with her just once I'm gonna be fine with it and just jump you or something? No." I turned to back to the clothes. "You are sadly mistaken."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a03cf2194da2eb7a06b737305d6d67ac""Oh my God, woman. What do I have to do to get you to understand that I'm not trying to ride every girl here?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="790fa2675780b80fdc6cc4f44a2cc64a""What?" I dropped the clothes again. Maybe I should just leave them. "You want me now that you had a taste of her and didn't like it, you're gonna see if you'll fine with tasting this one? No." Aw hell, I'll pick them up. " And what if you don't like this one's particular flavor, huh? You gonna jump onto the next available on? Let me guess, Andrea, right?" I waved a shirt at him. "No. See, I knew you were one of those guys that like the pretty blondes. Well guess what? No. You're not gonna have this one here. Nope. No. You can skip this one and go straight to your little Andrea." I started tossing clothes at him./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f07deaca9ad669f422060ff0f4aa4dd9""Whoa, whoa, whoa." He tried to duck away. "Slow down, okay? First of all," he caught a shirt and tossed it back to me, "stop throwing shit at me." He sighed and crouched in front of me. "I didn't test out Lori, okay? It was a momentary lapse of judgement on both our ends. I don't know where it is that you got the idea that I like Andrea. She's alright, but her ignorance is a turn off. You know what else I don't understand? That whole test-tasting thing. Is that supposed to be some type of metaphor? 'Cause I don't like it. And lastly, why are we even arguing about this? All this time that we've been getting along and working as a unit, and we fight over this? What are we fighting about?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b6f95555e558005fc547395ed85f6c49"I looked at the ceiling and sighed. "You and I both know that there's something going on here. And we both know that as soon as whatever this is starts to pick up, you back off. Then you go after someone else, like Lori, you do the same thing with her, and then it all happens again." I slowly started picking up the clothes. "I know there aren't many people to pick from since the world ended, but you don't just get to jump from girl to girl. You want me? Come after me. Show me you want me. Otherwise, just leave me be in that regard and continue to be the great leader and partner you are in this little organization. Okay?" I stood up. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go do my laundry. I'll see you later."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c3f6aa873a0b176aa8e235055c92250b"👣/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7aad06bc2fcbfdccb3c25cea9ae7889b""What's got you in such a mood?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6902fe98180a47b30ff45c63619e0b6d"My argument with Shane had me buzzing the whole walk back to the girls. We argue every once in a while, but it's always concerning the good of the group. We finally get a chance to address the elephant in the room and it doesn't end nearly as romantically as I'd fantasized./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="107e3550a728638958ecbda674af9cea"Because of that, I had been washing my clothes quite aggressively. Amy, Carol and I were the only ones cleaning the clothes at this point. The rest of the girls went back to the camp. Lori to tutor the kids, Jacqui to start cooking, and I don't know what the heck Andrea went to do./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a4a64d8495b2473ca607e401393d1f55""Ugh, Shane and his usual stupidities," I grumble./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e7935075c873c6d78e421b5f25f82f4c""I can't imagine," Amy said, "how much time he spends trying to think of ways to make this place even more boringly safe than it already is."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9ff5fb39ec99bf30d0b7d3d1d9ea9143""Well, there isn't much else to do, and he's just trying to protect us," Carol commented./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3532d1a2529fae17e1f96a94435076cc""Well, I don't know how you deal with him for such long periods of time. I need controlled dosages of his presence, seriously."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="aea8a0b658b6fdef2bc1ea6d8f7d40d6""Well, we get along pretty well. Actually we get along really well. Sometime we think the exact same thing. Or we'll think of the complete opposite thing from one another and still manage to finish one another's thought process. There are just a few times, over the stupidest little things, that we argue, to be honest."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3a5b8a3d082f544c2ccd4628faa7807b""Do you ever confront him about his complete lack of empathy? Because sometimes he's just kind of like, 'Here do this," Amy deepened her voice to do a bad impression of Shane. "Don't pout and deal with it if you don't want to get eaten." She started moving her arms like a robot, "Rawr.'"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="37c5ebafededf215005450e263acbb79""No," I laughed. "Not really. All I have to do is send him a look and he knows he did wrong in handling it that way."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3bb26f61826855de3f58cb9f2f88a65a""Yeah and then you go and clean up the emotional mess he left behind."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="34f0f1fef11d92c24c58793543be613a""But I think its good that she does that." Carol looked at me. "She's got a way with people. She always knows what to say to us to make us feel better." I gave her a small smile. We both knew how many times I had comforted her and tended to her wounds when Ed got in a pissy mood./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cee39c339d244b2f67520af2105eddbb""Yeah, how do you manage to calm down the Dixons?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="94b2562d4951ed2ecb3d8dd8bf22ae57""With Merle," I sighed. "Its always a fifty fifty chance that he'll listen. Daryl is a bit easier when he's away from his brother. I don't know," I mumbled. "Daryl just trusts me. And Merle only listens half the time 'cause I got boobs and I'll flirt with him every now and then."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="79db4ae07b24e104e269069e8f82de71"The three of us laugh./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2b8b081d1060e7e4ccb5fee037841797""Now that you brought up flirting with Merle, I've been wondering." Amy hummed. "What is it you see in that man? He's loud and obnoxious, inconsiderate and racist."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fd550af850ee43d26994bd020ae7d851""Violent and perverted," Carol mumbled./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="60355a0ce19b18684014b379d6adb5c6""Alright," I put my hands up. "Alright. I don't know, honestly. I think his mentality concerning others can change. He's actually pretty nice company, his sense of humor is a bit twisted and annoying, but its pretty funny."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="12686c78b19dc5fdea948d8fe282f92d""I don't know about you, Carol, but I get this weird little vibe that they've hooked up before." I said nothing and continued washing the clothes. "Oh look at her face!" She screeched. "Have you?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b75c48bae732ecf2defee1111c4f5ffd""I'm not talking about this," I huffed. They started giggling like school girls. "C'mon ladies, we have work to do." They kept giggling. "Oh hush and do the laundry."/p 


End file.
